HEART OF CHRISTIANITY STUDY GUIDE

Week of Sunday, Apr 23, 2006

Study Questions – Chapter # 7

1.      Marcus Borg says that the Bible is both personal and political, that it contains implications for our personal life and our social ethics. Do you agree or disagree and why?

2.      Do you know of countries that have tried to keep church leaders from evaluating social policies on the basis of our Biblical principles of ethics and justice? What are they?

3.      What do you believe the separation of church and state means?

4.      How do you think we can apply the Biblical concerns of caring for the “widow, the orphan, and the stranger” in our country and our community right now?

5.      Christian writer C. S. Lewis said, “Most of us do not approach the subject of politics to find out what Christianity says; we approach Christianity in the hope of finding support for the views of our own party.” What do you think this statement means? What do you think Dr. Lewis believes should be our approach to our faith and to our politics?

6.      What do you believe the most pressing justice concerns are in America and in Colorado right now? What does the church have to offer in a discussion of those issues?

7.      What should the role of federal and local government be in caring for the poor and vulnerable (children, the elderly, the mentally ill, those with handicaps)? What should the role of the church be?

8.      Do you believe that the Bible has any assumptions about our responsibility toward people who are less fortunate?

9.      Someone said, “The true test of a society’s greatness is in how it treats its most vulnerable citizens.” Do you agree or disagree and why? How do the words of Jesus in Matthew 25 apply or not apply: “When you have (cared for) one of the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you have (cared for) me.”

10.  Before our country went to war with Iraq, the Pope and the leaders of many churches believed that this war did not meet the criteria for a “just war” – partly because the attack on Iraq was not seen by some as a last resort after all other means had been exhausted. Should church leaders ever address whether a war is just or unjust?